Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A melody, especially a simple and easily remembered one.
- noun A song.
- noun The state of being in correct pitch.
- noun Obsolete A musical tone.
- noun Concord or agreement; harmony.
- noun Archaic Frame of mind; disposition.
- noun Electronics Adjustment of a receiver or circuit for maximum response to a given signal or frequency.
- intransitive verb Music To put into proper pitch.
- intransitive verb Archaic To utter musically; sing.
- intransitive verb To adjust or adopt in order to meet specific requirements or conditions, especially.
- intransitive verb To adjust (an electronic receiver) to a desired frequency.
- intransitive verb To adjust (an electronic circuit) so as to make it resonant with a given input signal.
- intransitive verb To adjust (an engine, for example) for maximum usability or performance.
- intransitive verb To adjust the wavelength output of (a laser).
- intransitive verb To become attuned.
- idiom (to the tune of) To the sum or extent of.
from The Century Dictionary.
- In elect, to bring (two or more electric circuits) into resonance; adjust to syntony; make the natural frequency for electrical oscillations in (one circuit) equal to the frequency in another circuit by adjustments of inductance and capacity.
- In psychophysics, to adjust physiologically to respond in an individual way to determinate intensities of stimulus: said (in the passive) of the pressure, warmth, cold, and pain ‘spots’ of the skin.
- noun A sound, especially a musical tone.
- noun A well-rounded and pleasing succession of tones; an air; a melody; especially, a brief melodic piece in simple metrical form. The term is often extended to include the harmony with which such a melody is accompanied.
- noun Specifically A musical setting of a hymn, usually in four-part harmony, intended for use in public worship; a hymn-tune; chorale.
- noun Same as
entr'acte . Sometimes called an acttune. - noun Correct intonation in singing or playing on an instrument; capacity for producing tones in correct intonation; the proper construction or adjustment of a musical instrument with reference to such intonation; mutual adaptation of voices or instruments in pitch and temperament.
- noun Frame of mind; mood; temper, especially temper for the time being: as, to be in tune (to be in the right disposition, or fit temper or humor).
- noun In phrenology, one of the perceptive faculties, of which the organ is said to be situated above the external angle of the orbit of the eye, as high as the middle of the forehead, on each side of the temporal ridge. This faculty is claimed to give the perception of melody or harmony. See
phrenology . - To adjust the tones of (a voice or a musical instrument) with reference to a correct or given standard of pitch or temperament. See
tuning . - To play upon; produce melody or harmony from.
- To express by means of melody or harmony: celebrate in music.
- To give a special tone or character to; attune.
- To put into a state proper for any purpose, or adapted to produce a particular effect.
- To bring into uniformity or harmony.
- To give forth musical sound.
- To accord with some correct or given standard of pitch or temperament.
- To utter inarticulate musical sounds with the voice; sing without using words; hum a tune.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- intransitive verb To form one sound to another; to form accordant musical sounds.
- intransitive verb rare To utter inarticulate harmony with the voice; to sing without pronouncing words; to hum.
- transitive verb To put into a state adapted to produce the proper sounds; to harmonize, to cause to be in tune; to correct the tone of.
- transitive verb To give tone to; to attune; to adapt in style of music; to make harmonious.
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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To what tune pleas'd his ear] _Key_ in this place seems to signify the key of a musical instrument, by which he set _Hearts to tune_.
Notes to Shakespeare — Volume 01: Comedies Samuel Johnson 1746
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With the arena thus sanctified, we embarked on a roller-coaster ride through a Gaga theme park, with her ubiquitous hits "Telephone" and "Poker Face" along with songs from her upcoming "Born This Way" album, including the title tune and a ruminative piano interlude, "Speechless."
A pyrotechnic bikini? Lady Gaga gives D.C.'s 'little monsters' what they want. 2011
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The show gets off to a strong start with the title tune and the goofy "Funky Fried Piece Of Man Meat," but slows down later as the drama takes over.
Michael Giltz: Theater: New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) #1 Kissless, Crazy, Cartoonish! Michael Giltz 2011
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The pair realized their goal on raucous, riff-y tracks like the title tune and “Nervous.”
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He produced her new album, which will be released in September, wrote the title tune, and sings on several of the tracks. 71-year-old Mavis all but adopted my two nephews during the recording (which took place at Wilco's Chicago loft) and I'm hoping her honorary grandmother status extends to my children, Charlie and Leah.
Danny Miller: Mavis Staples and Jeff Tweedy: You Are Not Alone 2010
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HANSEN: Devon Sproule, playing and singing in her living room the song she wrote for new CD, the title tune in fact, called "Don't Hurry for Heaven."
Paul Curreri And Devon Sproule: A Couple Of Solo Artists 2010
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But I also want to take the time to play one cut from the new CD, "Tomorrow's Children," the song, the title tune, sung by Pete Seeger.
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HANSEN: Well, this is Paul Curreri with the title tune from his new album, and it's called "California."
Paul Curreri And Devon Sproule: A Couple Of Solo Artists 2010
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HANSEN: That's Paul Curreri playing "California," the title tune from his new CD.
Paul Curreri And Devon Sproule: A Couple Of Solo Artists 2010
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In the title tune to the 1934 musical Anything Goes, "Cole Porter says" times have changed, "since the stock market crashed in 1929, but the super rich, like John D. Rockefeller Jr.," still can hoard e ...
Leo W. Gerard: "Anything Goes" Capitalism Destroys Companies and Workers' Lives 2009
colleen commented on the word tune
"--to tune in. Wireless Teleg., to adjust the frequency of (a wireless receiving apparatus) to that of a particular sending station fr. which messages are to be received."
December 14, 2006